


We can't make any promises now can we babe?

by storiesthatmakeus



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Friendship, Heartbreak, Love, M/M, Moving On, Self-Reflection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 20:44:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13256274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesthatmakeus/pseuds/storiesthatmakeus
Summary: Robert and Aaron have a late night conversation about Victoria and Adam, where Aaron reveals Adam's last words.Set a few months in the future.





	We can't make any promises now can we babe?

**Author's Note:**

> I have absolutely no idea what this is, but someone might appreciate my rambling nonsense!

‘’You’re back.’’

Robert looked up from his perch on the Woolpack bench to find Aaron smiling down at him.

‘’Yea, just now. Vic wanted some time alone, so I thought I’d come and grab a drink.’’

‘’Want some company?’’

‘’That’d be nice.’’

‘’So how’s Vic?’’ Aaron asked as he shuffled up next to Robert, feeling a familiar sense of comfort in the warmth of the man sat next to him.

It had been nearly a week since he had last seen the Sugden siblings, Robert giving him a small wave as he had driven out of the village; Victoria slumped down in the seat beside him, a pensive look on her face. It was hours later that he found out they were gone on a last minute holiday, a whispered conversation between Diane and his mum over tea in the backroom, comments over Vic’s low mood giving him an explanation for why someone would take an impromptu holiday at the end of March.

‘’She’s okay, putting on a front mostly, but she’s in better spirits than she was.’’

‘’It was her birthday the other day yea? That why you took her on holiday?’’

‘’Yea that and…’’

‘’What?’’

‘’She decided to take her rings off…got engaged on her birthday didn’t they? It all just hit her a bit so…’’

‘’She needed a break from the village, the memories.’’ Aaron finished softly. ‘’How was she?’’

‘’Sad.’’ Robert admitted, the pain at seeing his little sister in distress flickering across his face, something that made Aaron ache to hold him and offer some semblance of comfort to him. ‘’She wanted to put them back on straight away, but I told her the longer she holds on, the harder it is.’’

Aaron swallowed the lump in his throat at Robert’s words, the memory of the man sitting opposite him continuing to wear his wedding ring months after they separated fizzing in his mind.

‘’Giving out sage brotherly advice are we?’’ Aaron joked feebly, trying to erase the image in his head of seeing Robert’s bare ring finger the morning after his birthday. It was months ago now, but still felt like yesterday.

‘’Well I’m the only brother she has now, have to look after her, Andy told me to do it when he left, and with Adam gone…’’

‘’You were reminded of that…’’ Robert nodded in response as he gazed down at the last vestiges of his beer. ‘’You wanna know what Adam told me to do?’’

‘’What?’’

‘’He told me to be happy.’’

‘’And are you? Happy?’’ Robert asked curiously, meeting Aaron’s gaze properly for the first time.

‘’As happy as I can be.’’ Aaron shrugged.

‘’What do you mean?’’ Robert quizzed.

‘’People like me, we don’t get given the gift of happiness do we?’’

‘’Is this about…Alex? I overheard your mum and Liv talking.’’ Robert explained quickly, seeing the confused look on Aaron’s face.

‘’No, it’s not…I mean he was nice, really nice but I ended it because…’’

‘’Because something might be a really nice gift, but that doesn’t mean it’s what you wanted?’’ Robert offered, and Aaron shrugged, before nodding his head slowly.

‘’Yea…when you put it like that.’’ Aaron replied. ‘’That’s life though innit?’’

‘’Sometimes.’’ Robert agreed. ‘’But you deserve happiness, and you’ll get it one day.’’

‘’Never have before though, have I?’’ Aaron asked, his gaze drifting absentmindedly around the village. It was only when he felt the bench shudder under him that he realised Robert had peeled away from his position next to him, and was looking towards Keepers with a strange look on his face.

‘’Robert?’’

‘’I need to go check on Vic, but trust me Aaron, if someone like me can experience happiness, then you definitely can.’’

Robert walked away, his coat bundled up, protecting him from the sharp night winds swirling around him as he headed back to his home, watched all the time by Aaron, who stared after him in complete bafflement until he replayed the words he said and the penny finally dropped.

 

Aaron paced the Mill furiously; his frustrations at the way Robert interpreted his words threatening to bubble over. Much as he had tried to hide it, Aaron couldn’t have missed the look of regret that had clouded his ex-husband’s features for the briefest of seconds. Unable to stand the vast emptiness of the Mill living room, he called it a day and decided to head to bed, counting his blessings that Liv and Gerry were doing yet another penance at the pub and couldn’t mock him for going to bed so early.

Yet as he sat on the edge of his bed, still dressed with the light switched off, he still couldn’t make himself settle. He wanted to go straight to Keepers and explain, needed to, but he didn’t know how.

In the end, it was a text message, lighting up his darkened room only moments later that made up his mind.

_For the record, you may think you never had happiness, but I hope you know, you’ve given that to other people. Night Aaron x_

 

He was at Keepers in seconds, the door already open for him after he’d sent a text to Robert telling him he was coming over. He found him in the kitchen, pressed up against the counter with an unreadable expression on his face.

‘’I wish I was like you.’’ He blurted out, barely through the door when the words just tumbled out of his mouth, causing Robert to straighten up in shock.

‘’No Aaron, trust me. You don’t.’’

‘’Yes I do.’’ Aaron argued back. ‘’Because then I’d be able to say what I actually mean, instead of whatever nonsense my mouth spouts out before my brain has time to register it.’’

‘’Like saying you want to be like Robert Sugden?’’ Robert joked meekly, a small smile crinkling the edges of his lips, easing the tension that had suddenly descended.

‘’Like saying I’ve never experienced happiness before.’’ Aaron clarified, his breathing steadier now as they stood inches from each other in the tiny kitchen.

‘’Aaron, you don’t have to explain…’’

‘’No I do.’’ Aaron took a deep breath, and he could feel his eyes beginning to prick with tears. ‘’I have been happy, of course I have.’’

‘’You really don’t…’’ Robert began to repeat, but Aaron knew he wouldn’t get it out if he kept getting interrupted, so in two steps he had closed the distance completely, and had put two fingers over Robert’s lips, only removing them when the man opposite him nodded in tacit agreement to keep quiet.

‘’Happiest day of my life was when I married you.’’

‘’Mine too.’’ Robert agreed without missing a beat. ‘’But after…’’

‘’What came after doesn’t matter.’’ Aaron replied. ‘’Well it does, but I’m here because I just wanted you to know that you made me happy, you made me sad too, but you did make me happy Robert. I’d hate for you to think you didn’t.’’

‘’You made me happy too Aaron.’’ Robert said with a small smile.

‘’Well…now that that’s cleared up…’’Aaron said with a small chuckle, ‘’I’ll leave you to it. Maybe see you around tomorrow?’’

‘’Yea, maybe…’’

‘’Goodnight Rob.’’

‘’Night Aaron.’’

 

He was back in the Mill and under the covers less than ten minutes later, but still couldn’t sleep, because he knew he had one more thing to do. Picking up his phone, he chuckled to himself as he imagined how Robert would phrase it, and pressed send.

_Rob, that gift of happiness we talked about, well I think it’s still around here, just need to find it._

The reply came instantly.

_Oh really, remembered you still have it somewhere yea?_

_Of course, I would never have thrown it out._

_Why’s that?_

_Because I got it from you. Night Rob x_

And with that message sent, he slept.

**Author's Note:**

> And with that, I am completely out of story ideas lol!
> 
> I love writing these, and thank you for all the support, everyone on here is incredible. I'll be back soon hopefully, once I can come up with anything to write that makes even the smallest of sense, but I've used up all my inspiration and am fresh out! xx


End file.
